It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:58 am

All times are UTC - 6 hours





Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 37 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Author Message
 Post subject: Upgrading your Prop Shaft Seal
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:24 pm 
Offline
Team Axis
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 7:22 pm
Posts: 1321
Location: BoomTown!
Basically I took my boat to the dealer last year because my prop shaft seal was leaking like crazy, they charged me for the labor to adjust it and I went on my way. The next time I put the boat in the water the seal does not leak a drop, bad thing for a gland seal, it should drip once every 10 seconds. I drive about a half mile across the water and check it again, the seal housing is hot as hell and still doesn't leak all day long. I take a closer look and see what the dealer did to my housing and decide it's time to fix this myself. I e-mail Bob @ Malibu about the dripless seal that they use on the BU's and come to find out it will work on the Axis. As a matter of fact all the 2012 Axis have them standard I believe. I know the Vandall at the local boat show had one on it, I took it apart and looked. So for now this guide will be applicable to the 2009-2011 model Axis. So if you guys have a problem with leaks, I know they drive me crazy, here is what you can do to remedy the situation. I will put a description with each picture and what I did. The seal from Malibu was around 150$ and it took me around 4hrs to install and that was working very slow and cautious so I didn't mess anything up. I'm confident I could do the second one in 2 or less easy. The dealer wanted 900$ to do this job with the labor for the first adjustment, I said no and had them mail the seal kit to me so I could have it done later. lol


Attachments:
File comment: Start here, 90% of changing the seal will be done in this opening, If you have a prop puller now would be a good time to take it off, the shaft hangs down a little when you uncouple it from the flange, If not put a few towels between the prop and bottom of the boat so you don't scratch anything
IMG_0627.jpg
IMG_0627.jpg [ 38.68 KiB | Viewed 73415 times ]
File comment: This is the v-drive unit, there are 7 bolts and 1 nut that you will have to remove, 2 of the bolts are on the bottom and can't be seen, feel for them and you will find them, make sure you remove all of them, when they are out the unit will easily slide away from the transmission, this unit also has 2 large hoses going to it, one from the water intake grate under the boat, the other goes to the sea water pump, I couldn't get the one on the right off the v-drive so I removed it from the impeller housing and took the whole hose off with the unit. There are four nuts and bolts attached to the prop shaft flange, remove these, I don't have a before picture but i'll point them out in the after picture
IMG_0628.jpg
IMG_0628.jpg [ 68.51 KiB | Viewed 73415 times ]
File comment: this is the housing for my original seal, you can see where the dealer got very rough with the jamb nut and used a freaking pair of channel lock pliers and a hammer and chisel on it instead of the proper tool.
IMG_1577.jpg
IMG_1577.jpg [ 33.9 KiB | Viewed 73415 times ]


Last edited by Walter on Mon Feb 27, 2012 10:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Upgrading your Prop Shaft Seal
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:24 pm 
Offline
Team Axis
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 7:22 pm
Posts: 1321
Location: BoomTown!
x


Attachments:
File comment: This is the seal from Malibu, it has a water injection inlet and a double lip seal, far superior to the wax rope that was crammed into the original stuffing box
IMG_1573.jpg
IMG_1573.jpg [ 39.41 KiB | Viewed 73412 times ]
File comment: this is with the seal already installed but this is the flange that you will need to unbolt from the bottom of the v-drive, it has four bolts, also after you remove the v-drive unit you will need to loosen the set screw holding the center nut in place, take it out then you will need a 3/8 impact wrench and a socket to remove the nut from the shaft, it's very similar to the prop end but it is pretty snug.
IMG_1574.jpg
IMG_1574.jpg [ 61.24 KiB | Viewed 73412 times ]
File comment: this is a good view of the 6 perimeter bolts and the 1 lower bolt and 1 stud with nut, the v-drive uses a rubber seal that is reusable, the shaft is the same as the prop end as it is tapered with a key, the flange will be very snug on the shaft, I used a steering wheel puller across two bolt holes and hit it fast and hard with my impact, the flange is aluminum so i'm lucky it didn't get bent, if I ever do another one I will get a 4 way cross puller just to be safe
IMG_1568.jpg
IMG_1568.jpg [ 55.19 KiB | Viewed 73412 times ]


Last edited by Walter on Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Upgrading your Prop Shaft Seal
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:24 pm 
Offline
Team Axis
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 7:22 pm
Posts: 1321
Location: BoomTown!
x


Attachments:
File comment: this is where the dealer scratched my shaft with their freaking pliers, luckily it polished out and didn't cause a problem
IMG_1570.jpg
IMG_1570.jpg [ 49.75 KiB | Viewed 73411 times ]
File comment: take some green scotch-brite pads and lightly scuff the shaft to remove any metal burrs that could damage the new lip seal
IMG_1569.jpg
IMG_1569.jpg [ 63.94 KiB | Viewed 73411 times ]
File comment: slide the new seal on the shaft, you may add extra grease on the seals if it makes you feel more comfortable but I didn't have any problems, attach it to the housing with the supplied hose clamps
IMG_1575.jpg
IMG_1575.jpg [ 40.45 KiB | Viewed 73411 times ]


Last edited by Walter on Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Upgrading your Prop Shaft Seal
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:25 pm 
Offline
Team Axis
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 7:22 pm
Posts: 1321
Location: BoomTown!
x


Attachments:
File comment: reinstall the flange, jam nut, v-drive unit and couple the shaft back to the v-drive, now would be an excellent time to check the flange clearance and make sure it is still within spec. Then hook a hose to the water inlet on the seal housing
IMG_1582.jpg
IMG_1582.jpg [ 65.29 KiB | Viewed 73353 times ]
File comment: I went to the plumbing store and made a new hose going from the sea water pump to the transmission cooler to keep cool sea water on the seal at all times
IMG_1808.jpg
IMG_1808.jpg [ 51.86 KiB | Viewed 73353 times ]
IMG_1809.jpg
IMG_1809.jpg [ 47.07 KiB | Viewed 73353 times ]


Last edited by Walter on Mon Mar 05, 2012 8:23 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Upgrading your Prop Shaft Seal
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:25 pm 
Offline
Team Axis
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 7:22 pm
Posts: 1321
Location: BoomTown!
x


Attachments:
File comment: Here I hooked the new hose back to the impeller housing and the transmission cooler, hooked the other end of the prop seal hose to the fitting I screwed into the hose adapter
IMG_1812.jpg
IMG_1812.jpg [ 63.21 KiB | Viewed 73353 times ]
File comment: It actually has a little better clearance than the original hose because I shortened the trans cooler side and it no longer rubs against the right hand stringer, has good clearance in relation to the alternator and doesn't even come close to the steering shaft
IMG_1813.jpg
IMG_1813.jpg [ 67.64 KiB | Viewed 73353 times ]
File comment: view at idle, has good water flow to the seal housing
IMG_1817.jpg
IMG_1817.jpg [ 47.97 KiB | Viewed 73353 times ]


Last edited by Walter on Mon Mar 05, 2012 8:30 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Upgrading your Prop Shaft Seal
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:25 pm 
Offline
Team Axis
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 7:22 pm
Posts: 1321
Location: BoomTown!
x


Attachments:
File comment: this is the original seal box, if you want to keep what you have just loosen the thin nut first, holding backup on the lower part of the housing, then snug up the large nut until you have one drop at least every ten seconds, but I will warn you it is a bitch to get access to and it has to be in the water to adjust the gland
IMG_1773.jpg
IMG_1773.jpg [ 48.58 KiB | Viewed 73410 times ]
File comment: this is with the seal carrier removed, the seals are loaded in the top of the nut, I wouldn't want to replace these with the flange and v-drive installed, it is very hard to gain access to
IMG_1775.jpg
IMG_1775.jpg [ 50.84 KiB | Viewed 73410 times ]
File comment: this is it, just 3 wax ropes slash cut across the side, it is designed a lot like a rear main seal that was used in car engines way back in the day, thats why all the oldies leaked like crazy lol, the dealer had mine so tight it never leaked a drop and got very hot, that may be why the seals turned black, you just can't buy good service any more, do it once and do it right the first time
IMG_1777.jpg
IMG_1777.jpg [ 49.8 KiB | Viewed 73410 times ]


Last edited by Walter on Mon Feb 27, 2012 9:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Upgrading your Prop Shaft Seal
PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 8:26 pm 
Offline
Team Axis
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 7:22 pm
Posts: 1321
Location: BoomTown!
I changed the water supply to the seal to before the thermostat housing so the seal always has cool water due to a conversation I found here
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... tMlE8m1qIQ

for some reason there has been a little controversy as to whether the seal could handle hot water from the water jackets so I wanted to remove all doubt and keep it cool.


Last edited by Walter on Mon Mar 05, 2012 8:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Upgrading your Prop Shaft Seal
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:37 am 
Offline
Team Axis

Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2011 7:57 am
Posts: 779
Location: East Texas
How many hours you have on your boat?

_________________
2010&2014 A22
2012&2015 MB
2016 Supra SA400


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Upgrading your Prop Shaft Seal
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:55 am 
Offline
Team Axis
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 7:22 pm
Posts: 1321
Location: BoomTown!
90


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Upgrading your Prop Shaft Seal
PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 8:28 am 
Offline
Team Axis

Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2011 7:57 am
Posts: 779
Location: East Texas
Wow,

Not sure what the recommended change out time on the seal is, but I would bet it not 90-100 hrs. I have about 120 and I will be checking this out for sure.

Thx

_________________
2010&2014 A22
2012&2015 MB
2016 Supra SA400


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 37 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next

All times are UTC - 6 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 20 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  


cron